Boat stabilizer



May 30, 1950 J, JACOBS 2,509,974

BOAT- STABILIZER Filed Jan. 23, 1947 Patented May 30, 1950 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE BOAT STliBILIZElR,

J nseph H. Jacobs, Minneapolis, Minn. Application January 23, 194.7, Serial No: 7233869 Claims.

This invention relates to a boat stabilizer particularly adapted. for use on small boats.

Most small boats are very unstable and they roll and tip easily. Every year a large number of deaths are caused by small boats overturning. In rough water and also when loading and unloading an unstable boat can be very dangerous.

It is an object of my invention to provide a portable stabilizer adapted to be readily attached to various types of small boats to substantially reduce rolling and tipping thereof.

More specifically it is an object of myinvention to provide a submerged stabilizing member preferably in the form of a fin with readily attachable mounting means having a hinged relation between the stabilizer and said mounting means to enable the boat to navigate in very shallow water.

The above and. other objects and advantages of the invention will more fully appear from the followin description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a boat showing the stabilizer attached thereto;

Eig: 2 a side elevation of .a boat with the stabilizer attached thereto;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the attaching element of the stabilizer; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view showing the hinged arm in detail; and

5 is a central. vertical sectional view of a portion of the attaching element.

A relatively small, submerged water engaging fin is provided and in the form of my invention illustrated takes the shape of a slightly elongated disc 8. This fin is, of course, made from any suitable metallic material which is heavier than water such as steel plate. A connecting arm 9 is disposed substantially vertically and. has one end fixed. to said fin or disc 8 and is hinged substantiallly at the center thereof as by a pin connection ill shown in Fig. 4. The lower portion of 9b of arm 9 is disposed angularly of the upper portion of said arm so that the lower extremity 9b of said arm is disposed rearwardly of the transverse horizontal u end portion 9a of the arm 9. The upper port 11 of said connecting arm 9 has a right nd therein forming a horizontal marginal end portion to. This horizontal portion 9a is journaled transversely of said boat in a gunwale attachment mounting i l as shown in Fig. 5*.

Gunwale attachment mounting II has an outer flange Ila and an inner flange ill); a thumb screw I2 is'threadably mounted through inner flange llb. A link 53 is pin connected at one end to the-lower inward extremity ofgunwale attachmentmounting H. The otherend of said link 13 is pin connected'to a supplemental bracing memher I adaptedto be mounted on a seat of the boat or any transverse member in said boat. Bracing member it in the formshown takes the shape of a U-shaped member having its two sides disposed horizontally in parallel spaced relationship. A thumb screw i5 is threadabl'y mounted through the lower horizontal portion of saidbracingmember 14.

To install my stabilizer on a boat, the two downwardly disposed flanges Ma and lib of gunwale attachment mounting H are slid down over the gunwale of the boat, the arm 9 extending downwardly on the outside of the boat. and the disc 8 being submerged below the surface of the water. The bracing member it is then slid over a seat or other transverse member of the boat and thumb screw !5 istightened against the bottom surface of said seator transverse member, The link l3 adaptssaidbracing member Hi to fit seats which are disposed at varyin distances below the gunwale of theboat. When the bracing member it has been secured to the transverse member in the: boat, the gunwale attachment mounting l l can be secured to the gunwale of the boat by tightening thumb screw l 2 against the inside surface of the gunwale, bringing the inner surface of outer flange Ha tightly against the outer surface of the gunwale. It will be seen that this mounting securely fastens the stabilizer to the boat.

In operation the submerged fin or disc 8 offers resistance to rollin and sudden tipping of the boat, tending to prevent it from overturning both during loading and unloading of the 'boat and also while it is navigating in rough water. When the boat comes into shallow water, the disc 8 engages the bottom. and the arm 9 swings up both at hinge Iii and in the bushings in attachment mounting H. The rearward disposition of the lower portion of connecting arm 9 facilitates this pivotal action. This prevents injury to the disc or the boat when said disc strikes an obstruction in the water or comes in contact with the bottom of the lake or stream. The hinge Ill also makes the unit more portable and compact as does the pivotal connection in mounting l I.

It will be seen that an easily portable, collapsible, efliciently operating stabilizer has been provided for small boats and the like. My stabilizer is very easily installed on a great variet of small boats and the water engaging disc or fin eificient- 1y performs its function to stabilize the boat to resist rolling and overturning. A hunter or fisherman can easily carry one of my stabilizers with him and attach it to the side of a rented boat.

It will of course be understod that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement, and proportions of the various parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A boat stabilizer comprising a fin at least partially submergible in water, an attachment mounting adapted to be secured to one side of a boat, and a depending connection between said fin and said attachment mounting, said connection having a pivotal joint therein, at an intermediate portion thereof, the lower segment being inclined rearwardly relative the vertical, said joint having its axis disposed in operation horizontally and transversely of said boat.

2. A boat stabilizer comprising a fin at least partially submergible in water, a mounting adapted to be attached to one side of a boat, and a depending connection between said fin and said mounting, said connection having a pivotal joint therein at an intermediate portion thereof, said joint having its axis disposed in operation horizontally and transversely of said boat, said mounting providing for swinging movement of said connection on a horizontal axis disposed transversely of said boat the lower segment of said depending connection sloping rearwardly to form an inclinded lower segment adapted to swing upwardly upon striking an obstruction in the Water.

3. A boat stabilizer having in combination a mounting bracket comprising a pair of depending spaced jaws adapted to receive an upstanding portion of the gunwale of a boat therebetween, a clamping element mounted on one of said depending jaws and adapted to be progressively shifted relative thereto to clamp the other jaw tightly against said gunwale portion, an elongated bearing fixed to said jaws and disposed transversely of said boat above the gunwale thereof; a fin at least partially submergible in water, a depending connecting arm fixed to said fin and hav ing a transverse horizontally disposed element at the top thereof journalled in said transverse bearing to pivotally mount said fin relative to said boat.

4. A portable boat stabilizer having a mounting bracket comprising a clamp adapted for rigid attachment to the gunwale of a boat, an elongated bearing disposed transversely of said boat and fixed to said gunwale attachment clamp, a diagonal brace connected at one end to said bearing and adapted to be rigidly clamped to a transverse member of said boat; a connecting arm having a transverse horizontally disposed element journalled in said bearing, and a submergible fin fixed at the lower end of said depending arm for stabilizing said boat.

5. A portable boat stabilizer having in combination a mountaing bracket comprising a pair of spaced opposed depending jaws adapted to receive an upstanding portion of the gunwale of a boat therebetween, a clamping element threadably connected to one of said jaws for tightly clamping the other jaw against one side of said gunwale, a transversely disposed elongated bearing fixed to said jaws and disposed thereabove, a diagonal brace connected at one end to said bearing and having a clamp at the other end for rigidly attaching the same to a transverse member of the boat, 2. depending connecting arm having a transverse horizontally disposed element journalled in said bearing, and a submergible fin connected at the bottom of said arm for stabilizing said boat.

JOSEPH JACOBS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,108,574 Atwell Feb. 15, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 745,121 France Feb. '7, 1933 OTHER REFERENCES Sailing Craft by Schoettle, 1937, pages 260, 262. 

